Applications Invited for innovative Solutions to address unmet needs Emerging threats in TB

About the Organization

India Health Fund (IHF), integrated as Confluence for Health Action and Transformation Foundation (underneath Section 8 of Companies Act, 2013), was seeded in 2017 by Tata Trusts and with strategic help from The Global Fund. (IHF) was conceived to speed up India’s progress in direction of the elimination of infectious ailments. IHF does this by addressing the gaps in funding for product improvement, in mentorship and in market entry which are typically confronted by small and mid-size entities with highly effective concepts which have the potential to considerably enhance outcomes in the prevention, analysis, and therapy of infectious ailments. IHF additionally works to develop efficient enterprise fashions, implementation partnerships and financing mechanisms which assist to considerably scale up these options – enabling influence at scale.

About the Grant

India Health Fund (IHF), in collaboration with ACT Grants, IPE Global, and IKP Knowledge Park, is looking for proposals for innovative options, together with digital well being applied sciences, medical gadgets, and diagnostic instruments, to address important gaps in main healthcare and tuberculosis (TB) care, significantly in underserved communities in India. Despite elevated investments and expanded therapy protection, TB stays a significant public well being problem, with India accounting for 2.7 million circumstances and over 300,000 deaths in 2023. Diagnosis, therapy adherence, and prevention proceed to face important limitations, significantly amongst susceptible populations.

Traditional diagnostic instruments typically lack sensitivity and specificity, main to missed circumstances, whereas therapy adherence is hindered by stigma, socioeconomic constraints, and sophisticated regimens. Drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) additional complicates illness administration, necessitating simpler options. Emerging considerations, comparable to subclinical and incipient TB, contribute to continued transmission, highlighting the necessity for superior applied sciences in screening and analysis. Climate change additional threatens TB care by disrupting healthcare entry via excessive climate, displacement, and environmental stressors. Heat stress, for occasion, can degrade diagnostic reagents and cut back the efficacy of heat-sensitive medication, affecting therapy outcomes. Strengthening well being techniques with climate-resilient diagnostic instruments and supply mechanisms is essential.

IHF seeks options that combine well being improvements and local weather resilience into TB care. Proposals that improve early detection, enhance illness administration, and guarantee long-term well being system resilience can be prioritized. By supporting transformative improvements, IHF goals to bridge current gaps whereas future-proofing India’s well being techniques in opposition to rising threats, guaranteeing equitable entry to high-quality healthcare.

Scope of the decision:

Problem Statement 1: Enhancing TB Screening and Diagnostics in High-Risk and susceptible populations and addressing current gaps in TB care.

Despite world efforts to management tuberculosis (TB), important gaps persist in the well timed detection of the illness, significantly amongst high-risk and susceptible populations. Traditional TB diagnostic strategies, comparable to smear microscopy, endure from low sensitivity, particularly in people with low bacterial hundreds (e.g., kids, individuals residing with HIV, and people with comorbidities). Additionally, the reliance on sputum-based diagnostics presents challenges in populations the place pattern assortment is troublesome, comparable to pediatrics and people with weakened immune techniques. Additionally, entry to speedy molecular diagnostics stays restricted in many peripheral well being facilities, additional delaying analysis and therapy initiation.

To address these gaps, there’s a important want for screening and diagnostic options which are speedy, correct, inexpensive, scalable and related to the contextual needs of the inhabitants. These decentralized options needs to be accessible in resource-limited settings, together with migrant communities, tribal populations, and troublesome to attain populations. Innovations in non-sputum-based diagnostics or screening applied sciences, comparable to blood-based, urine-based, or breath-based exams, AI-assisted radiology imaging (together with chest X-ray interpretation, ultrasound-based screening, and scientific determination help techniques and many others.), molecular and biosensor-based testing, and built-in drug resistance detection maintain the potential to considerably improve TB case detection, enhance therapy outcomes, and cut back transmission.

Need # 1: Cost-effective improvements for simple pattern assortment, dealing with, and storage, which might decrease the danger of publicity.

Scope of Innovations:

• Innovations that enhance pattern assortment (comparable to tongue swabs), dealing with, storage, pre-processing, verification, and/or reporting for environment friendly processing and minimizing pattern loss guaranteeing correct and dependable diagnostic outcomes. Applicants are inspired to think about using thermostable pattern storage options to stop pattern degradation in increased temperature areas.
• Innovations in pattern processing that may improve the focus and high quality of samples for extra correct testing. Additionally, incorporating heat-resistant polymers in assortment and processing instruments might assist keep pattern viability in excessive weather conditions.
• Innovations in pattern assortment instruments appropriate for the needs of paucibacillary TB circumstances comparable to pediatrics, individuals with HIV, people with co-morbidities, or these with low bacterial hundreds. Utilization of nanomaterial-based protecting coating layers enhances the soundness of diagnostic parts could also be explored.

Need #2: Accurate, speedy, inexpensive, and decentralized TB screening and diagnostic options—together with non-sputum-based, point-of-care, minimally/noninvasive instruments—to enhance screening and detection of all types of TB (pulmonary, extrapulmonary, drug-resistant) suited to address the needs in high-risk (migrant staff, tribals, individuals with co-morbidities and many others.) and susceptible populations (pediatrics, immuno-compromised, different susceptible populations and many others).

Scope of Innovations:

• Molecular or immunoassay-based options that permit for decentralized testing in area settings, appropriate for use by well being staff in cell clinics/restricted useful resource settings. Integration of each drug resistance detection and TB detection right into a single platform can be a bonus together with differentiation of TB and Non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM). Solutions could take into account incorporating heat-stable reagents and thermostable pattern storage options to guarantee performance in high-temperature areas.
• Effective TB triaging options that may help in lively case-finding, comparable to breath-based, sound-based, biomarker-based options and many others. Optimized reagent formulations with heat-resistant enzymes, antibodies, and primers could also be explored to guarantee assay stability in excessive circumstances.
• Tools that use alternate pattern varieties comparable to blood or urine samples to detect low bacterial hundreds /paucibacillary TB circumstances. Integrating preservative formulations to keep pattern integrity underneath warmth stress could also be explored.
• Portable TB screening/ diagnostic gadgets that may combine AI for automated picture studying (e.g., chest X-rays- CAD, POCUS), decreasing the necessity for specialists on-site. Applicants could discover utilizing heat-resilient supplies in check parts to help in rising sturdiness in area circumstances.
• Low-cost genomic sequencing, (complete genome/focused genome sequencing (WGS/tNGS) based mostly gadgets), to detect DR TB and help in transmission dynamics. Encapsulation methods utilizing heat-resistant coatings could also be explored to improve reagent longevity.

Need # 3:  Scalable and Replicable prepared to deploy fashions for built-in TB screening and diagnostics.

Scope of Innovations:

• Scalable, cost-effective approaches that maximize TB case detection throughout the current TB care continuum. These fashions ought to leverage public well being infrastructure, decrease extra human useful resource necessities, and combine seamlessly into the continuing program. Implementation could contain combining two or extra complementary applied sciences (e.g., molecular, immunoassay, AI-driven imaging) to create an end-to-end, patient-centric, and geographically adaptable screening and diagnostic workflow. Applicants are inspired to take into account climate-resilient designs and approaches to guarantee this system’s effectiveness in various settings, for e.g. the usage of packaging improvements with thermal insulation to shield check parts from warmth publicity to navigate local weather induced provide chain disruptions.
• Innovative deployment fashions that combine TB diagnostics with screening for co-infections/co-morbidities (HIV, diabetes) and different respiratory ailments to present a holistic lung well being evaluation. By combining TB detection with broader illness surveillance, these approaches can enhance general well being outcomes whereas enhancing program effectivity and cost-effectiveness. Integration of phase-change supplies in check transport and storage options to guarantee reagent viability in resource-limited, high-temperature settings could also be thought of.

Additionally, candidates may take into account designing a program incorporating a mixture of the above-mentioned approaches.

Problem Statement 2: Bridging the Gaps in TB Detection Across the Disease Spectrum to address TB’s silent and rising varieties.

Traditional TB classification, which categorizes the illness as both latent TB an infection (LTBI) or lively TB, now not absolutely captures the complexity of TB development. Recent research have demonstrated that TB exists on a dynamic spectrum, starting from latent, incipient to subclinical TB, the place people harbor Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) however stay asymptomatic whereas nonetheless able to transmitting the an infection. Research signifies that TB transmission happens from people with subclinical TB earlier than they progress to symptomatic lively illness. Furthermore, a big proportion of people with LTBI—estimated at 5-10%—will progress to lively TB in their lifetime, with increased dangers amongst immunocompromised people and family contacts of lively TB sufferers.

To successfully cut back TB incidence and enhance case detection, diagnostic methods should evolve past typical strategies to detect TB throughout this spectrum. Advancements in non-invasive biomarker-based assays (e.g., host RNA signatures, TB antigen-based pores and skin exams and many others.), AI-powered CXR and CAD algorithms, and next-generation molecular diagnostics (e.g., CRISPR-based, multi-target NAATs and many others.) provide the potential to detect TB in its earliest varieties. Additionally, innovative LTBI diagnostics that will additionally differentiate incipient TB from persistent LTBI and predict development to lively TB are important for focusing on preventive remedy to people on the highest threat, together with healthcare staff and shut contacts of lively TB sufferers. Integrating these superior diagnostic instruments into routine TB packages can bridge detection gaps, cut back transmission, and speed up TB elimination efforts.

Need #4: Tools for detecting subclinical/incipient in people with sporadic/no signs, significantly in high-burden areas.

• Performance enhancements (comparable to enhancements in accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, restrict of detection and many others.) or repurposing current instruments that may be appropriate for the detection of sub scientific TB.
• Biomarker based mostly improvements that display potential to establish TB in asymptomatic people in direction of  enabling early intervention in populations at excessive threat.

Need #5: Rapid diagnostics for latent tuberculosis an infection (LTBI) in high-risk populations.

Scope of Innovations:

• Non-invasive diagnostic instruments that can be utilized for LTBI screening comparable to saliva-based exams, decreasing the limitations to common screening and early intervention.
• Innovations in multi-antigen assays or immunoassays to detect latent TB in high-risk populations comparable to healthcare staff and TB contacts. The potential to differentiate LTBI from lively TB or predict development outcomes could also be an added benefit.
• Rapid, cost-effective options for LTBI that has excessive specificity, shorter Turnaround Time (TAT) decreasing the burden of false positives from BCG vaccination aimed toward bettering the uptake of TB Preventive Therapy (TPT).

Problem Statement 3: Digital Innovations for Strengthening TB Screening, Diagnosis, and Patient Management.

Traditional TB diagnostic strategies typically face challenges associated to accessibility, turnaround time, and reliance on specialised skillset. These limitations hinder well timed analysis and therapy initiation, significantly in low-resource and high-burden settings. Leveraging AI, machine studying, and built-in digital platforms that not solely address TB but additionally different lung well being circumstances, maintain the potential to enhance diagnostic accuracy, streamline affected person monitoring, improve therapy adherence, and supply lung well being evaluation. Digital platforms might additionally combine diagnostic outcomes with affected person administration techniques whereas decreasing errors and inefficiencies arising due to dependency on handbook processes. While improvements comparable to AI-driven diagnostics, Digital Adherence Technologies (DATs), and automatic reporting instruments (e.g., QR-code-based pattern monitoring) display promise, their remoted application fails to address systemic inefficiencies in TB care pathways. This highlights the necessity for multi-component, context-sensitive designs which have the potential to strengthen the present system.

Need #6: Digital well being instruments to enhance effectivity, monitoring, and reporting of TB analysis, therapy, and follow-up and different related lung well being circumstances

Scope of Innovations:

• Comprehensive lung well being platforms/panels to differentiate between TB and different frequent respiratory infections comparable to pneumonia, COPD exacerbations, bacterial and viral decrease respiratory tract infections and different overlapping lung well being circumstances comparable to silicosis, pneumoconiosis, bronchiectasis asbestosis and many others. ).
• Integrated digital well being options that mix diagnostic knowledge with affected person administration techniques for improved monitoring, adherence, and follow-up care, whereas enabling real-time reporting and monitoring of TB circumstances and therapy outcomes.
• AI-based techniques to decrease errors due to subjectivity errors related to the usage of current instruments, options that help in automating knowledge entry, and supply actionable insights to help determination making.
• Affordable offline-enabled techniques to monitor TB therapy adherence in populations with out web entry or smartphones.

Program choices

• Milestone-based funding help.
• Need-based mentoring/data constructing by a panel of consultants for steerage on study design and validation, regulatory panorama know-how, market entry help.
• Deployment help for ready-to-implement expertise/group of applied sciences in an built-in method, topic to the innovator having required permissions from the involved companies.
• The innovation needs to be TRL-4 and above (See FAQ for an evidence of TRL)
• Promising proposals at TRL 4, 5, 6 & 7 can be supported for product improvement, scientific validation, regulatory approvals, and multicentric trials.
• Promising improvements at TRL 8 & 9 can be supported for proof demonstration, neighborhood validation, and acceleration.
• Access to assets for adoption in the general public well being system, together with help in direction of enabling demonstration via pilots and advisory on go-to-market technique.
• Access to well being economics analysis and final result analysis alternatives to assess the cost-effectiveness of the innovation and information its improvement and implementation.

Project Duration and Budget

The mission length together with clear mission outcomes outlined by the applicant can be topic to detailed analysis and approval by the funding committee. Promising proposals

can be supported with funding by IHF, ACT Grants, IPE Global and IKP Knowledge Park

contingent on milestones achieved at completely different levels.

Eligibility

• Applications have to be submitted by entities registered and integrated in India.
• The proposal is related and aligned to a minimum of one of many downside statements given above.
• Transparency in furnishing related knowledge, together with validation/pilot knowledge, in help of the proposed innovation, needs to be agreeable to the applicant.
• The innovation needs to be demonstrating enchancment over the presently accessible options or approaches in phrases of sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, security, turnaround time, usability in peripheral settings, unit pricing.
• Innovation ought to have the potential for scale-up throughout various settings.
• It is fascinating if the innovation is amenable to being multi-disease relevant.
• As advised via this doc, candidates are inspired to take into account the influence of local weather change as a key issue for design, improvement and deployment of their improvements.

How to Apply

Application submission deadline: thirtieth April 2025

For functions and queries, please attain out at contact@indiahealthfund.org

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